Federal grant funds after-school program

Greenwood Elementary student Debra Houston reads a book while attending a new after school program run by the Union-Baker Education Service District. DICK MASON

The Greenwood Elementary School student was greeting his mother at 5:30 p.m. earlier this fall. His mom was picking him up in La Grande following a three-hour session that is part of a new after-school program run by the Union-Baker Education Service District.

“We didn’t do any work today,’’ the boy told his mom.

“They have been in school all day. We do not want to make it work,’’ Engle said.

Engle is the head instructor for the new ESD after-school program in the La Grande School District. The approximately 16 students in the program are among about 45 attending in La Grande, Elgin and North Powder. Students are also attending at three schools in Baker City.

The program is funded by a five-year federal grant for academic after-school programs the Union-Baker ESD obtained for Union and Baker counties. The ESD will receive $440,000 each year for three years, $330,000 the fourth year and $220,000 the fifth year provided funding is approved beyond the first year by Congress. The ESD obtained the after-school program grant last summer with major assistance from Eric Blackford, the ESD’s curriculum instruction and school improvement director. Blackford wrote the grant proposal and is the program manager for the grant.

At North Powder Elementary School, head after-school instructor Sharon Trimble, like Engle, is also injecting fun into the learning process. Her students are learning through involvement in things such as cooking and play productions. The children have done things like put on a play for their parents and learned how to cook tasty treats which were served to adults at a Halloween party. The North Powder children, in the process, have discovered how to measure cooking ingredients, and honed their reading and math skills.

“They are learning without realizing they are learning,’’ Trimble said.

The children have done their best in the kitchen and on the stage to impress their parents and other adults.

“It is great to see them so full of pride,’’ Trimble said.

North Powder also has an ESD after-school program for students in grades 6 to 12. Students in this program are busy preparing for contests at youth invention conventions. This ties in with an objective of the ESD program — to help students learn about science and technology through project activities.

Students are working in teams and displaying noteworthy ingenuity. One team is developing plans for climate-

controlled clothing that could warm and cool people. The team’s students are learning about solar and textile technology, said Stephani Rasmussen, the head instructor for the North Powder grade 6-12 after-school program.

A highlight of each after-school session in Union and Baker counties is the meals served. Main entrees at various schools include peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, pizza, chicken and corn dogs

At Elgin’s Stella Mayfield school the meals are so popular that they have been moved to the beginning of each afternoon session after originally being served after the first hour, said Kate Bottger, the Elgin program’s instructor.

Bottger said the program is succeeding in Elgin with exceptional help from the community and Stella Mayfield’s teachers. Bottger said the teachers are very good about telling her what academic areas the children in the ESD after-school program need to focus on.

In the La Grande School District, the ESD’s after-school program is for Greenwood students. Other La Grande School District grade school students are also eligible if their families qualify for the federal government’s free and reduced price school lunches. Non-Greenwood students can only be in the program if space is available.

The Greenwood students in the ESD program first met at Willow Elementary because of lack of space at Greenwood. The students, beginning this week, are meeting in Island City at the ESD’s old alternative school building, because it offers additional space. The children are transported by bus to the site.

Greenwood students are regularly treated to science demonstrations by Engle. She does things like make colors seem to explode in clear water in one demonstration.

“They truly think I’m doing magic,’’ Engle said.

Rather than explain her “magic’’ right after a demonstration, Engle fields questions.

“I don’t figure it out for them.’’

Neither does Engle rigidly follow an outline for each after-school project.

“I let the children’s questions direct where we go,’’ she said.

Engle strives to create a warm and secure environment in which they voice their queries.

“They feel safe asking questions,’’ Engle said.

Engle is impressed with how respectful all of her students are of each other. It is not uncommon to see a second-grader helping a fifth-grade and vice versa.

“Kids helping kids, I love it,’’ Engle said.

All the Greenwood students are part of what is known as the ROCK-it! Club. ROCK stands for reading, observing, creativity and knowledge.

Engle views ROCK-It! as a supplement to the school day, an enrichment that hopefully will jettison children to new heights

“I want them to go beyond what they think they were capable of.’’